Gravitas and Joy of Tea Cakes, Smart Mouth

The word “gravitas” appears in the title of my Smart Mouth article but not within context in the actual article. That part was edited out. Who and what are missing is historian Miller W. Boyd III and his quote about the seriousness of Juneteenth. The use of the word “gravitas” was my special nod to what he said to me about how Juneteenth, now a federal holiday, should be observed. In our conversation, he noted that the symbolism associated with the food, the flag and day were all important to the telling an American story. The observing of Juneteenth, as he related, should be a combination of seriousness and joy. I agree.